Two Months
by Fluffy'sBaby
Summary: Mello and Near are given two months to get to know L, before he leaves to Japan for the Kira case.
1. The Meeting

**A/N: I decided to start a Death Note story, because it's my favorite Manga and there just aren't enough fanfics for it out there.**

**Summary: L, Mello, and Near are given two months to get to know each other more, before L leaves to Japan for the Kira case.**

**Rated: Not sure about the rating, I mean, there's no real serious adult supervision required so I guess everyone can read. But there will be spoilers...**

**Disclaimer: I Do not own Death Note or any of the characters. But praise the geniuses who do, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.**

**Two Months**

**Chapter 1: The meeting...**

"YAY! WE'RE FREEEEE!"

Tiny feet padded on the floor of Wammy's orphanage as the children were all released from their morning studies.

Watari stood outside of the school room door smiling as all the children ran by greeting him, some even stopped to give the old man a tender hug before running off to play outside.

None seemed to notice or either didn't care to notice the tall rugged looking boy that stood behind him. The boy looked to be in his mid-teens and his height was a little undetermined due to the deep hunch in his stance.

By the looks of him you would think that he hadn't slept in days. Dark colored hair sat unkept upon his head, dark rings circled his wide round eyes, and he wore casual baggy clothes which consisted of long blue jeans and a long sleeved white shirt that looked to be covered in different colored stains, possibly from earlier foods he had eaten.

He continued to stand behind Watari with his hands stuck in his pocket as he watched the last few children scurry off from their studies.

Watari smiled as he motioned for the boy to follow him into the room where just two remaining children sat inside.

The younger of the two laid sprawled out across the carpeting. His white hair hung covering his amusement filled eyes as he crashed two robot toys together making both of their heads pop off.

"Boom..." He said as he casually tossed the smaller of the two robots across the room into a building made of legos, smiling as the building toppled over leaving a colorful mess covering the floor.

The other missing orphan sat alone at a table placed on the far end of the room. His chair stood on its hind legs while his head rested against the light green wall.

Short legs were balanced on top of the small table while one arm laid draped across the back of his chair. His other arm rested on its elbow against the window sill and his hand held onto a half wrapped chocolate bar that hung from his mouth.

His eyes boredly stared out the window into the play yard where he watched a group of kids climb onto the large jungle gym.

Watari politely cleared his throat drawing all attention to him.

"Hello, how have you two been, Near?...Mello?"

Near, not taking his attention away from his decapitated robot, nodded his head in acknowledgment of Watari.

Mello on the other hand stood to his feet, the look of anger apparent on his face.

"What took you so long, I could be outside by now you know?"

The unnoticed boy that stood behind Watari, stuck his thumb nail into his mouth as he stared curiously at the short tempered young blonde.

"Now Now Mello, there is no need to be upset. I just wanted to introduce you two to someone who will be very important in choosing which of you will become L's successor."

Mello now stood in front of Watari with the same angry look on his face. His arms were crossed as a piece of uneaten chocolate sat clenched between his teeth.

"And exactly who is that?"

Watari stepped to the side allowing Mello and Near to get a good view of the boy that stood behind him.

That said boy lightly stood to his full height as he stuck both of his hands into his pocket.

"I am L."

The piece of chocolate dropped from Mello's mouth as he stared up at the supposed L.

Near on the other hand, popped the head back on to his robot and stood to his feet. He walked pass Mello and up to L stretching out his small hand.

"The names Near! Pleased to Meet'cha!"

L studied the young boy for a second before grabbing his hand and smiling thoughtfully.

"Thanks, it's nice to meet you too."

Mello however, was not convinced. He recovered from his sudden shock and pushed passed little Near.

The blonde circled L a few times, inspecting the teen, even lifting up the boys shirt and looking at his back.

L stood still, but looked towards Watari in confusion.

"Watari-san, please make Mello-chan stop."

The old man cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"Why yes... Mello it is very rude to invade L's personal space."

"I don't know, are you sure he's L? I expected someone a bit more heroic looking, you know like Super Man or Captain Planet. He just looks like some over worked highschool kid. I've seen him around the orphanage plenty of times and he never seemed that important. How can I be convinced that he's L?"

Watari gently grabbed Mello who was now on the verge of looking down the back of L's pants.

Near also came to the rescue and grabbed L's hand pulling him over to the colorful pile of fallen legos.

Mello frowned and was about to stomp over to the two, but was stopped when a gentle hand grasped lightly onto his shoulder.

"Now Mello. I know it's a shock to have L suddenly reveal himself to you at a time like this, but I assure you that is him."

"I don't believe you, I think this is just some trick. That guy must just be working for L and he's come to observe us...Then he'll report back to the real deal about which of us will make the better successor...Am I right?"

Watari sighed as he placed both of his hands on the boy's shoulder and bent down so that he was at eye level with him.

"Look Mello, I understand why you don't believe that is the real L but he is and I suggest you spend a lot time with him because in about two months, he will be heading off to Japan to work on the Kira case."

Near who had been recently absorbed in showing L a few finger puppets that he had made of himself, Mello, Watari, and a few other people from around the orphanage, looked at L after hearing what had just been said.

"So you're going to work on the Kira case, from Japan?"

L stuck his thumb nail into his mouth as he twirled around the small finger puppet of Watari with his other hand.

"Yes, I have reason to believe that Kira is located in Japan."

Mello walked up to L once again and stared him in the face.

"So, if that's the case. Then coming from what Watari said, you have just two months to convince _me _that you're L. Near maybe fooled easily, but right now I feel that there is only a 5 percent chance that you are the real L."

L smiled as he placed the finger puppets of Near and Watari on the middle and index fingers located on his right hand.

He placed the finger puppet of Mello on the index finger located on his left hand, staring at it careful. He then looked towards the real Mello who stood with his hands on his hips, still waiting for a response.

"Two months will give us enough time to get to know each other better and hopefully convince you that I am indeed L."

Watari smiled as he clapped his hands together.

"Perfect, well you three have fun. I'll be getting back to work now...L you make sure these kids behave...and don't feed them too many sweets. Mello, Near, I'm expecting a lot from you two."

With that said, Watari turned on his heel and left the room leaving L and his two successors alone.

Near and Mello watched Watari leave, then turned their attention towards L who looked to be in deep thought, as he continued to stare at the puppets placed on his fingers.

He carefully removed the puppet of Watari from his finger and placed it back with the pile of other finger puppets.

He then looked between the two finger puppets of Mello and Near, as both boys continued to watch him with curiosity. L then nodded his head as if confirming something and looked towards the young boys, smiling happily.

"Let's go get some cake..."

**TBC...**

Read and Review Please... !


	2. A piece of Cake

**Disclaimer: I Do not own Death Note or any of the characters. But praise the geniuses who do, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.**

**Thanks to my reviewers...**

**Two Months**

**Chapter 2: A piece of Cake...**

"Mo Men, Mow mold mar mu?"

L seemingly looked up from his strawberry shortcake as he turned his attention to Mello who was currently sitting across the table from him. The young blonde was busy stuffing his mouth full of chocolate cake while he continued to ask the teen more questions, trying to determine whether or not he was L.

A chocolate bar was placed in his left hand while his right hand worked on shoveling more cake into his mouth.

L was able to translate what Mello said as, "So then, how old are you?".

The teen shifted a little in his weird sitting position, before stabbing his fork into the strawberry that was placed on the top of his cake.

"I am sixteen."

This time, Mello made sure to swallow all of the cake in his mouth before talking.

"Really?... Well to tell you the truth, I always figured that the real L was a little younger than what most people thought...so I guess... that... raises your chances... to...um... ten percent."

L nodded his head in agreement, then stuffed the sweet strawberry into his mouth as he reached for a can of whip cream that sat in the middle of the table.

Near sat beside Mello, one of his legs were pulled up to his chest as he twirled one of his vanilla frosted fingers through a lock of his white hair.

His other hand held onto a small plate covered with little crumbs from his half eaten sweets. A toy space man was seated in the center of it, behind a piece of vanilla cake.

Near used his plate like a flying saucer and flew it around in the air, before carefully landing it on the top of a tea cup.

With out looking away from his self-made space station, Near began his own little interrogation of L.

"The fact that a lot of the criminals there were targeted by Kira, is your reason for going to Japan, right?"

L once again looked up, this time from a tower of melting whip cream that he was currently building. He curiously stared at Near while he licked a dash of whip cream from his thumb.

"That is correct. You are very smart Near-kun!"

L smiled on Near's behalf, which made Mello a little jealous.

"That's stupid. You're going on very little evidence! Just because a few of the criminals were targeted in Japan, is not a good reason to investigate in just that one area. It's all a coincidence... and you're telling me, that you are going to base the whole investigation on just that?"

L stuck a spoonful of whip cream into his mouth as he turned his attention back towards Mello.

"Yes, that is also true. You're very smart too Mello-chan!"

Mello, feeling that L was being sarcastic with him, quickly lost his temper. He stood up from his seat and poked his little finger into L's face.

"That's it!... You're back at five percent!..."

"But..."

"YOU WANNA MAKE IT FOUR!"

L, confused, cutely tilted his head to the side as he licked at a swirl of whip cream on the corner of his lip.

"YO, MELLO!" A loud voice came from across the room.

The blonde looked up to see a little friend of his, running towards them.

"Aye Matt!"

Mello sat down and happily smiled as his dark haired friend walked up to the table.

"Hey Mello, I've been looking all over for...is that cake!"

Matt pushed himself into the small two person seat, sliding Mello into Near and rudely knocking the small boy out the other end. Near stood from the seat and threw a short glare at both boys before moving to sit next to L.

Matt grinned and grabbed Near's plate of half eaten cake.

Near made sure to snatch his space man toy off the plate before the boy stuck a fork into the cake.

Matt lifted a pair of sun glasses off his face and set them on his head as he began to eat.

"So Mello, why weren't you outside today? It was so fun, a group of kids got into a fight on the jungle gym and one girl fell off...I'm telling you, everyone could see right up her skirt, she was crying and everything."

L watched as Mello's little friend ate up the last of Near's cake and then began to lick up the last bit of chocolate frosting on the Mello's plate.

Mello frowned when he heard about all the fun he had missed.

"Sorry Matt. I would have LOVED, to go outside, but Watari made me stay behind for some_thing."_

He said all of this while glaring at L, whose attention was still being absorbed by the little boy who sat across from him licking away at chocolate frosting.

Things remained uncomfortably silent until Matt finally finished his task of licking Mello's plate clean. He threw the now spotless plate back onto the table and let out a deep sigh.

Looking up, Matt couldn't help but notice that Near and L were staring at him.

"What?"

When the two didn't respond, he turned to Mello for an answer but instead was caught off guard when his friend broke into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"Yo...your FACE!"

The blonde shook his head as he pointed towards Matt's nose.

Matt, crossing his eyes, tried to get a good look at his nose. But this only made Mello laugh harder at the funny face he was making.

L continued to watch as the boy desperately tried to spot any flaws on his face.

What Matt didn't know, was that while licking the chocolate off of Mello's plate, he had managed to get more of the frosting on his nose rather than in his mouth.

Mello grabbed a silver napkin dispenser from the table and held it up so Matt could see his face.

"Oh!"

The boy smiled as he leaned in to get a better look at his face and instead of just grabbing a napkin to wipe his nose clean, he stuck out his small tongue and began to lick at his nose.

"What are you doing?" Mello asked when his friend grabbed the silver dispenser from him.

"What does it look like, I'm trying to clean my nose."

Matt continued to bend his tongue in weird shapes, trying to reach his nose, but the task proved to be a lot tougher than he thought, which really frustrated him.

"I CAN'T REACH IT!" Matt whined as he continued to try and lick his nose clean.

Mello frowned and grabbed a napkin off of the table.

"Idiot, why don't you just use THIS!"

He leaned over and tried to wipe off the boy's nose but Matt instead pushed his hand away.

"No, I want to see if I can lick my nose." He continued to try licking his nose. A few minutes passed until Mello finally became angry.

The blonde tackled Matt out of the seat, wrestling him onto the floor as he tried to wipe his nose clean with the napkin.

Matt frowned as he tried to push Mello off of him, his tongue still out trying to lick away at his nose.

"STOP MELLO, I want to do it myself."

Matt managed to roll himself on top of Mello. When he caught his balance, the boy stood up and made a run for the front door, with his tongue still aiming for his nose.

Mello stood to his feet and looked towards Matt. Then with out thinking, the blonde took off after his friend.

"YOU DUMMY, ONLY DOGS LICK THERE NOSES CLEAN!"

L watched as the door closed behind Mello.

"Mello-chan is very persistent isn't he?...that is impressive, but now I guess it's just you and me."

L grinned at Near, before once again picking up the can of whip cream. He tilted his head back attempting to spray the cream into his mouth.

Near contemplated on watching him, but then came up with a better idea.

He grabbed L's hand causing the boy to miss his target and spray whip cream all over his hair.

Near not noticing L's hair problem, pulled him out of his seat and lead him out of the room.

"Let's go to the game room."

**TBC...**

**Read and Review Please**


	3. A Puzzle?

**Disclaimer: I Do not own Death Note or any of the characters. But praise the geniuses who do, Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.**

**Thanks to my reviewers...**

**A/N:(This chapter will be very significant to my story so pay attention. Not so much humor in this chapter, but it needs to get serious for a quick second.)**

**Two Months**

**A Puzzle?:**

"Are you sure Mello-chan won't mind that we left him?"

L sat across from Near who was working on setting up his train set so that the tracks traveled around the room. It's journey started at L's feet and moved towards the puzzle shelf before making a sharp turn, andtraveling through a small town built from blocks. The tracks circled around the town and led through a self made train tunnel before leading back to L's feet.

"Mello is one who let's the most silliest things distract him from his main purpose and right now that is to find out whether or not you are L. He only has two months and he's letting simple things like a dirty face pull him away and absorb all his time, so it is his own fault if he gets left behind."

L kept his attention focused on Near trying to decipher exactly what the boy was trying to say. Was he disappointed about Mello being so simple minded or was he glad being that he now had all of L's attention. Were these two boys actually in competition over who would become his successor or were they just playing a simple game in which to test the other's skills?

Near took a seat next to L after completely piecing together his train and placing it on the tracks.

"I understand Near-kun, but after all Mello-chan _is _just a child and children do tend to get distracted."

Near pulled his leg close to his chest.

"...Not me..."

L smiled as Near pressed the go button for his train and watched as the train pulled off on its journey with a loud blow of it's whistle. The same space man Near carried around earlier was placed on top of the very last car.

Without looking away from his train set, Near continued to talk to L, a solemn look on his face.

"I never get distracted and that is the reason why I am always a step ahead of Mello... He doesn't realize that when it comes to intelligence, we are evenly matched..."

Near reached behind himself digging into a red toy chest. He pulled out of it, a blue dart gun and began to load it with just one orange dart.

"...But when it comes to common sense..."

He aimed the gun at the train that was now heading around the town. The train circled the town and went through the tunnel as it headed now towards L's feet.

The teen noticed that the tracks by his feet were not connected and the way the end track ran off, the train was planning on crashing directly into him.

He sat perfectly still though, his hands placed gently on his knees, watching as the train closed in just a couple of inches from his feet. A small pop was heard and he watched as the front of the train fell over just a centimeter away from his toes with an orange dart stuck to the side of its window.

"...I have the upper hand."

After the first car fell, the rest of them fell with it, a domino affect. Everyone of them fell except for the last car which was still being held up by the weight of Near's spaceman. L looked towards Near who was holding onto the dart gun, the solemn look still on his face.

"That may be so, but sometimes it is good to get distracted because you may notice something that wasn't there before. Though it may be a rare occasion, I sometimes find myself getting distracted too."

A small hum came from Near as he grabbed his train and began to piece it back together. He stopped however when L stood and walked over to the puzzle shelf.

He watched as the detective scanned through the puzzles and then pulled out a box that had been placed in the back, long forgotten.

"I had no idea that this one was still here."

He took the box over to a small table that sat next to the window and dumped it's contents onto the surface. All of the pieces to a puzzle fell onto the table, except for one which landed on the floor next to L's feet.

Near stood from where he sat and made his way past his train tracks over to the table where L still stood. He leaned forward and picked up the fallen puzzle piece.

Near sat down in a chair opposite to L, pulling a leg up to his chest as he inspected the piece in his hand.

The detective smiled as he also took a seat, pulling both of his legs to his chest.

"It's a two sided puzzle I used to always play with when I was younger."

L took the empty box and began to put the puzzle together inside of it.

"I never got bored with it because when I completed one side, I would just turn it over and complete the next. I would do this for hours over and over again."

Near placed a hand on his knee and rested his head on it while he continued to stare at the puzzle piece. Things remained quiet for a while, while L continued his puzzle. Near finally looked up from the object in his hand and broke the silence in the room.

"L...are you afraid?"

The detective looked up from his puzzle and stared at Near.

"...afraid?"

Near lifted his head from his knee and began to twirl his hair between his finger tips.

"Yeah, you know you're taking a big risk with this Kira case and I saw the broadcast you did in Japan. Calling Kira out on t.v. like that is not very smart, especially when you don't know his exact means of killing. It is said that all he needs is a face and name to kill off his victims. You say that there is a high chance that Kira is located in Japan and so you're going over there to search from him among so many people. You may not know it, but from a crowd of people walking in the street, one of them could be Kira and they may know who you are and why you're there. So in that short instance, they will already have your face and will only need your name. I understand that your name is kept a big secret but, if Kira is using super natural abilities to kill off its victims, then what will stop them from using that same power to get your name. I know you have been through a lot of cases, but this is the most dangerous one as of yet. Aren't you afraid that things won't turn out the way you think they will, are you not afraid about being killed by Kira?"

L looked up from his nearly finished puzzle and stared at the piece that was still placed in Near's hand.

"The most I am afraid of, is not being able to solve the puzzle, not being able to win this game."

"Game?"

"Yes, as quiet as it's kept, I am very childish when it comes to being wrong. I dislike losing and so that is why I make sure I solve every case that I choose to take. If I don't win or if I am proven wrong about something, I tend to fall into a depressed mood."

Near continued to hold on to the puzzle piece that was still in his hand.

"So, you are telling me that for every case you take, you look at it as another game for you to win? Another puzzle for you to solve?"

L looked back to his puzzle and began to put in the last few pieces.

"Yes, that is correct."

Near stood up and walked over to L's seat looking over his shoulder at the almost complete puzzle...there was just one piece missing, just one piece that was stopping the puzzle from being completed.

"Then let me ask L...if you look at all of this as just one big game, what are your reasons for needing a successor?"

The detective began to nibble on his thumb as he stared at the spot where the missing puzzle piece belonged.

"Like I stated before Near-kun, I am one who dislikes losing. So if I ever am killed, which I do not fear too much, I still want to be able to solve the puzzle and in order to do that I need all the help I can get. Though it has yet to have happened, someday I may not be able to completely solve a puzzle on my own, so I will need help and that is where you and Mello-chan will come in."

Near took the puzzle piece that was in his hand and placed it into the last spot where it belonged, completing the puzzle.

"But L, I am told that you can only have one successor...So I am very curious about who you will choose between. There's me and then there is Mello, the tension between us has grown fierce, but in the end, the choice will only be up to you. What exactly are you looking for in a successor?"

L looked at the finish puzzle, which was a picture of the orphanage...their home.

"I don't know..."

Near looked at L who began to get up from the table, he was confused about what the detective had said, though his face didn't show it. How could he not know, exactly how long would it take for him to choose a successor?

"I think I'll go look for Mello-chan, he has been gone for quite a while...will you come?"

Near sat down in the chair L had just stood from and looked into the empty box top at the completed puzzle.

"No, I think I'll stay here a little longer..."

L smiled as Near lifted the box and flipped the puzzle over, ready to start on a new picture.

"Ok, I will see you later."

The teen walked out of the room closing the door behind him. He sat in the hallway for a moment, recounting the events that had just transpired between him and Near.

His thoughts were interrupted however, when a loud crash and a familiar shout came from outside. L tilted his head as he stuck both of his hands into his pocket and followed the sound, which he was sure had come from the missing blonde.

**TBC...**

**Review please.**


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